The Breastfeeding Diet

You're not finished eating for two quite yet — here's how to get the right nutrition to provide your baby with a liquid lunch (and breakfast, and dinner, and snacks…)

Tired of eating like an expectant hawk? Then you’ll be happy to hear that your breastfeeding diet is in many ways similar to your pregnancy diet—with much more relaxed rules. That’s because although you are what you eat, your breast milk isn’t, so much. The basic fat-protein-carb combo of human milk isn’t directly dependent on what you eat. Even women who aren’t well fed can feed their babies well, since if a mom doesn’t consume enough nutrients to produce milk, her body will tap into its own stores to fuel milk production. That said, you'll still be aiming for plenty of nutrient-dense foods and steering clear of less healthy ones. The good news: lots of your favorite foods are back on the menu.

How many calories do you need?

Just because you can make milk on a less-than-adequate diet doesn’t mean you should. The goal when you’re nursing should never be to deplete your body’s store of nutrients. That’s too risky for your short- and long-term health, and it will shortchange you on much-needed energy as well as potentially sabotage your milk supply.

While calories definitely count, you won't need to count them (unless, of course, your practitioner has recommended you do so). Milk production burns about 500 calories a day — close to what you’d torch on a five-mile run, all without leaving your lounge chair. As long as you stayed within your doctor’s recommended weight gain during pregnancy, and your weight is in the normal range, you may even need to up your intake by about 500 more daily calories than you ate pre-pregnancy (just one of the many benefits of breastfeeding!).

What to eat when you’re breastfeeding

Eating well when you’re nursing means getting a variety of nutritious food. And since a varied diet changes the taste and smell of your milk, it will expose your baby to many different flavors (so the carrots, Thai or salsa you’re eating today may have your baby reaching for those foods in the future). In fact, expanding your little one’s culinary horizons well before she starts solids might even minimize the potential for pickiness.

High-fat foods: Small amounts (you don't need as much as you did during pregnancy)

Omega 3s: 2 to 3 servings per week, to promote baby's brain growth (that’s 8 to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish like wild salmon and sardines; you can also get omega 3s in DHA-enriched eggs)

Prenatal vitamin: Daily

The Best Foods for Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

How much water to drink

Aim for 8 cups every day — especially in the weeks after birth, since it will help your body to recover. To ensure you’re getting enough, a good rule of thumb is to drink a cup of water at every nursing session.

Keep in mind that your milk supply won’t be affected unless you’re seriously dehydrated, but your urine will become darker and scanter. Not drinking enough can set you up for health issues including urinary tract infections (UTIs), constipation and fatigue.

Foods to avoid while breastfeeding

When you're breastfeeding, there's a lot more that’s on the menu than off — with a few caveats:

Excessive caffeine: One or two cups of coffee, tea or soda a day won’t affect your baby (and during those early, sleep-deprived months, it might be just what you need to keep going). More than that, however, may lead to both of you feeling jittery, irritable and sleepless.

High-mercury fish: The same EPA guidelines on fish safety that apply to pregnant women also apply to breastfeeding women: Avoid high-mercury fish including shark, tilefish and mackerel. Limit tuna to 8-12 ounces a week of canned light tuna or no more than 4 ounces a week of white albacore tuna.

High-fat dairy and meat: Pesticides and other chemicals you should consume sparingly are stored in animal fat, so it's generally best to stick to lower-fat varieties. Whenever you do opt for higher-fat dairy, poultry and meat, consider choosing organic, since producers cannot use antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides or other chemicals.

Processed foods: As a general rule, check labels and try to avoid processed foods that contain long lists of additives.

What is back on the menu? Raw fish (including sushi and oysters); unpasteurized soft cheeses; cold cuts that are actually cold; and pink (or even red) meat.

Alcohol and breastfeeding

Looking forward to pouring a glass of wine at the end of a long day? Go for it! While some alcohol does find its way into your breastmilk, it’s considerably less than what you drink. Wine, beer and hard liquor are all safe to drink while you’re nursing (in moderation, of course). A few tips:

Nurse first, drink later. Aim to sip right after you’ve nursed rather than before, if possible, to allow a couple of hours for the alcohol to metabolize.

Aim to limit yourself to a few drinks a week. Heavy drinking may cause drowsiness, weakness and excessive weight gain in infants, can change the taste of your milk and decrease how much baby nurses, can impair your own functioning so you are less able to care for your baby and can weaken your let-down reflex.

Test yourself. Not sure whether your milk is alcohol-free at the moment? Test it using Milkscreen. If it comes back positive, raid your freezer for some stored breastmilk instead.

Foods to Watch Out For

There are a few additional foods you should consume with care when you’re nursing:

Some herbal supplements. Few studies have been done on the safety of herbal supplements, so little is known about how they affect a nursing baby — plus these supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA. To stay safe, ask your doctor before taking any herbal remedy, and think twice before drinking herbal tea or breastfeeding brews. For now, stick to reliable brands in varieties that are considered safe during lactation (orange spice, peppermint, raspberry, red bush, chamomile and rosehip). Read labels carefully to make sure other herbs haven't been added to the brew.

Non-organic foods.Choose organic fruits, veggies, dairy, poultry, meat, eggs and grain whenever you have the choice and can afford the usually steeper price and you’ll minimize the chemicals your baby is exposed to through your breast milk. But don’t drive yourself crazy — a small amount of pesticides and other chemicals will end up in your diet despite your best efforts, and that’s OK.

What to watch your baby for

While most babies slurp up breast milk no matter the flavor, a few have picky palates right from the start — detecting and rejecting even the smallest hint of garlic or strong spices. You’ll quickly tell which category fits your baby and be able to modify your diet accordingly.

Another thing to watch for: It’s not common (and hasn’t been backed up yet by science), but some moms say that certain foods they eat (especially gas-producing ones like cabbage, broccoli, onions, cauliflower, beans or Brussels sprouts) unsettle their little ones’ tummies and temperaments (even causing colic). And a maternal diet heavy in melons, peaches and other fruits may cause diarrhea in some sensitive babies, while red pepper can cause a rash in others. Don’t assume, though, that your baby will have a reaction to what you eat. Keep in mind that what seems like a reaction (fussiness, gassiness) is much more likely newborn baby business as usual.

It takes between two and six hours from the time you eat a certain food until it affects the taste and aroma of your breast milk. So if your baby is gassy, spits up more, rejects the breast or is fussy a few hours after you eat a certain food, try eliminating the food for a few days to gauge the response.

Allergies in breastfed babies

Very few babies (two to three in 100) are actually allergic to foods in their moms’ diets. The most common offender is cow's milk; others are soy, nuts, wheat and peanuts. In addition to extreme fussiness and crying, babies who have a real food allergy will display other symptoms, including:

Occasional-to-frequent vomiting

Loose, watery (or mucousy) stools (possibly tinged with blood)

Lack of weight gain

Eczema, hives, wheezing and/or nasal discharge or stuffiness

If think your child might have a food allergy, and especially if you have a family history of allergies, talk to your doctor. He or she will likely recommend eliminating a potential problem food for two to three weeks to check if it’s truly the culprit.

WhatToExpect.com's editorial team works in partnership with Heidi Murkoff, author of the What to Expect series, to provide our audience with expert, authoritative, trustworthy and evidence-based health information that supports happy, healthy pregnancies and happy, healthy babies.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect the First Year. Health information on this site is based on peer-reviewed medical journals and highly respected health organizations and institutions including ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), as well as the What to Expect books by Heidi Murkoff.